Ghostwriter: The College Years (Episodes 1 and 2)
by A. R. Chwa
Summary: Episode One (chapters 1-5) - Welcome Home - Rob returns to New York at least to enroll at NYU. But he's in for a nasty surprise when he moves into the dorms. Episode Two (chapters 6-9) - An Unwanted Photo-Op - Lenni panics when a student at NYU takes a picture of her and it gets plastered on the front of a popular magazine.
1. Chapter 1

WELCOME HOME (Fall 1999) – PART ONE

Lenni Frazier sighed as her producer shook her head.

"Look Lenni," she said. "I know it's a lot of pressure. But you have to make this album to fulfill your contract."

"I know Jade," Lenni sighed. "But I've been in such a funk lately…and I'm five whole songs short. I can't write five songs in just a week."

"I wish I could give you more time," Jade sighed. "But the album has to be finished by the end of the month. And none of the songs we've done so far is really suitable for a single."

Lenni groaned as Jade patted her hand.

"Why don't you get some rest tonight?" she suggested. "We can start fresh in the morning. Maybe we'll have some new ideas by then."

Lenni nodded and grabbed her things. But as she walked home, she kicked a can down the sidewalk.

"Five songs in a week?" she muttered. "Including a hit single? I can't do that! My career might as well be over."

Hector Carrero sighed as Gabriela Fernandez patiently helped him count the money again.

"I don't know Gaby," Hector said. "I may never get the hang of this."

"It takes time Hector," Gaby said. "And with Alex joining the police, we're going to need your help to run the store."

"But your dad was going to hire Victor as a manager," Hector said.

"That was before Tina's dad got a hold of him," Gaby said. "Victor's full time over there now, so you're stuck with us."

"You mean you're stuck with me," Hector sighed.

Gaby shook her head as her brother Alejandro came in with her best friend, Tina Nguyen.

"How's it going Rookie?" Gaby grinned.

"Knock it off Gaby," her brother scolded. "I won't be a rookie for long."

"I know Alex," Gaby grinned. "But I like calling you that. My big brother, the big time cop."

"Not yet," Alex sighed. "Still a couple more weeks of training…and it'll be a few years before I can move up to detective."

"Especially if you can't see what's right in front of you," Tina said.

"Tina," Alex said. "It looked _just_ like him."

"What?" asked Gaby.

"Alex thinks some guy we saw on a skateboard was Rob," Tina said.

"Rob?" asked Hector. "We haven't heard from Rob ever since that letter about the wild beach party."

"The one where all the girls were flirting with him?" Gaby asked.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I guess Australian girls actually _like_ his dirty body-parts dancing."

"Well they sure don't go for guys that just stand around and eat popcorn," Gaby said, glaring at her brother.

"Sometimes they do," Tina grinned.

Alex grinned back at Tina as Lenni came in, looking sulky.

"I bet Lenni would agree with me if _she_ saw him," Alex said.

"Saw who?" Lenni asked.

"Alex thinks he saw Rob earlier," Tina said. "There was a guy on a skateboard that was dressed like him."

"Rob?" asked Lenni, making a face. "He's in Australia…flirting with girls on the beach."

"More like they were flirting with him," Hector said.

"Well of course," Lenni shrugged. "Rob was a really hot guy back when he was here. Can you imagine what he looks like _now_?"

"You thought Rob was hot?" Gaby asked.

Lenni gave her a look and ignored the question, turning to Alex.

"If it _was_ Rob you saw," she said, "tell him I need help writing songs. Jade couldn't move the deadline and I'm sunk if I can't come up with anything."

"Rob wrote poetry more than songs…but I'll tell him," Alex said.

"_If_ it was him," Tina said.

"Yeah," Lenni muttered. "I'm going up to bed. See ya."

They all said goodnight to Lenni as she went upstairs. The others looked at each other and Tina shook her head.

"Wow," Tina said. "She hasn't been this grumpy since the breakup with Tuan."

"I wish we could help her," Gaby said. "She's been like this for a week now."

"We all want to help," Alex said. "But some of us have work."

"Yeah," Hector said, looking at the register. "Work that's near impossible to do."

"Now you sound like Lenni," Gaby said.

"Lenni's foul mood must be contagious," Tina sighed.

Gaby shook her head and looked out the window.

"Hey Alex," Gaby said. "Is uh…that the guy you saw earlier?"

Everyone turned around and gasped as a familiar young man walked into the bodega. He was wearing an army jacket, sunglasses, and a bandana around his head while carrying a skateboard. Alex let out a laugh and pointed at him.

"Admit it!" he said. "It was you, wasn't it?"

The young man cocked his head to one side.

"What're you talking about?" he asked.

"You heard me," Alex said. "You were going the wrong way on a one-way street!"

"I ride a skateboard!"

"You have to follow traffic rules if you're not on the sidewalk."

"That street doesn't have a sidewalk!"

"I'll have to write up a citation," Alex said. "Unless of course you want to confess."

"I'm not guilty of anything!"

"Prove it then."

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"Not to me," Alex grinned. "Prove to _them_ that it _was_ you I saw…Mister Rob Baker!"

The young man gave a sigh and took off the sunglasses. Everyone gasped as he held out his hands.

"Okay okay," he said. "I confess that I'm back in New York. Now will you lay off the cop stuff?"

The girls squealed and hugged Rob as Alex shook his hand.

"All right Alex," Tina said. "I guess you were right."

"What?" asked Rob. "She didn't believe you?"

"Nobody did," Alex said. "They all seem to think you're playing around with beach girls in Australia."

"Never should've told you guys about that," Rob muttered, peering at Hector.

"You're the one who put it in the letter," Hector said. "I guess you got accepted though, huh?"

"I got accepted," Rob said. "But Dad says I have to pay for it myself…_without_ any loans."

"Accepted?" asked Tina. "To what?"

"New York University," Hector said. "After the story about the beach party, there was a P.S. about Rob applying to go there."

"You didn't show us that," Alex said.

"It said not to," said Hector grinning. "He wanted to surprise you…although I thought you were coming later."

Hector looked at Rob, who shook his head.

"That was before the email saying when Jamal was leaving," Rob said. "I changed my ticket so I could catch him."

"Better go then," Alex said. "He's leaving first thing in the morning for Texas."

"I want to hand these out first."

The others looked at each other as Rob took three notebooks out of his bag. He handed a red one to Alex, a yellow one to Tina, and a pink one to Gaby.

"Hey," said Alex. "These are the notebooks we gave you."

"Yeah," Rob said. "I made copies of your messages so I wouldn't have to tear the covers off."

"But…why give them back?" Gaby asked.

"They're full, of course," Rob said. "Take a look."

"Wow," Tina said. "Mine is full of scripts."

"Looks like mine has detective stories," Alex said.

"Mine has stories too," said Gaby.

"Yours has science fiction," Rob said. "You _are_ a big fan of Galaxy Girl."

"What about Lenni?" asked Hector.

"Poetry," Rob said. "Figured she could put music to it."

"You showed up at _just_ the right time then," Tina said. "Lenni needs new songs and _fast_."

"And she's been too down to write any," Gaby said.

"I better get this to her then," Rob said.

"She might have gone to bed already," said Alex. "But you can leave it with Max and Sally."

Rob smiled and shook his head.

"Can't believe Lenni's dad married Sally," he said. "See ya guys."

Lenni rolled over in bed when she heard someone at the door. Whoever it was talked with Sally briefly before leaving. Sally came in her room and put something on the bedside table and Lenni grew curious.

"Who was that?" she asked sleepily.

"Charming young man," Sally said, smiling. "Old friend of yours. I told him you went to bed so he left this for you."

Lenni picked up the notebook and turned on her lamp.

"But…this looks like the notebook I gave to Rob."

She looked at Sally, who nodded. Lenni's eyes grew wide as she looked through the notebook.

"It's full of poems," she said. "Rob _never_ let us read his poems. And look. Some of these have musical notes drawn in the corner."

Lenni sat up and looked at Sally.

"Could those be _songs_?"

"I suppose," Sally said. "You knew Rob better than I did."

"But…was that _Rob_ at the door?"

"Of course," she said. "He had to rush off though. He wants to visit Jamal before he leaves tomorrow."

Lenni jumped out of bed and grabbed her coat.

"Now Lenni," Sally protested. "Do put some proper _clothes_ on if you're going to chase this boy down! Lenni!"

"Wow," Jamal Jenkins laughed, flipping through the green notebook. "And these are fantasy stories?"

"Yep," Rob said. "First one is what I was writing when I first met you and Alex."

"The one about the wizard?" Jamal asked. "I always wanted to know what happened to Josh."

"I reworked it a few times before I satisfied with the ending," Rob shrugged. "You can read it on the plane."

"Thanks man," Jamal said, shaking Rob's hand. "It's great seeing you."

"Great to see you too," Rob said. "I came a few days early so I could catch you."

"Appreciate it," Jamal said. "Have fun at NYU."

"I will," Rob said.

Jamal closed the door and Rob went down the steps and got on his board. But before he took off, he heard someone calling him and turned around.

"ROB!"

Rob turned around and gasped, quickly pushing off towards her.

"Lenni!" he called. "Look out!


	2. Chapter 2

WELCOME HOME – PART TWO

Lenni screamed as Rob pulled her out of the street just as a car passed by, narrowly missing her. He breathed hard and held her close, as she started to sob.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Rob…"

Rob sighed and pushed her hair away from her face, which was lined with tears. He kept one arm around her as he grabbed his board.

"Come on," he said.

Rob let Lenni cling to him as he walked her over to the park. When she seemed to have calmed down, he sat on a bench with her, pulled the bandana from his head and wiped her tears with it.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, sniffing. "Sorry."

"S'okay," he shrugged. "But really Lenni. I didn't come back to New York to see you get hit by a car."

Lenni laughed and he smiled.

"What _are_ you doing back?" she asked.

"I'm starting at NYU," he said.

"Oh," she said, sitting up. "So…you'll be here for good?"

"Lenni…I've lived in eight different cities…in three different countries…on three different continents," he said. "Now that I'm _finally_ eighteen, do you honestly think I'm _ever_ going to move again?"

Lenni grinned and cocked her head.

"I don't know," she said. "Those Australian beach girls sounded pretty appealing."

"Oh please," Rob said, rolling his eyes. "They weren't the ones who got me out of the black hole I was in after moving there."

"Black hole?" Lenni asked.

"You know," Rob said. "When nothing's going right…and you feel like you'll never be happy again. When it's always cloudy…and you can't remember what sunshine feels like."

"Yeah," Lenni sighed. "That sounds like _my_ world right now. It's like…you're trapped…and you can't get out."

"Exactly," Rob said. "I was stuck there for _weeks_…until I got something that helped me bust out of it."

Lenni cocked her head.

"What was it?"

Rob smiled and pulled a CD out of his bag.

"This."

Lenni's eyes grew wide.

"But…that's my first single."

"I know," Rob said. "And I played it over and over for _days_…driving everyone in the house completely nuts…until I finally got out of the funk I was in and started writing again."

Lenni did a double-take.

"You had stopped writing?"

"You can't write when you're down like that," Rob said.

"Oh I know," she said. "It's just…I never thought that _you_ ever had that problem. You're always writing."

"Well I didn't have that problem _here_," Rob said. "_Here_ I had friends. _Here_ I had the team…and Double T…and Victor. _Here_ I had you…and your music…all the time."

Lenni gave a shy smile as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"And once I had your music again," he said, "the darkness was gone…and I was able to keep going."

"Wow," Lenni said. "I didn't know…my songs could do all that."

"Your songs are _great_, Lenni," Rob said. "Don't ever give up on them."

"I'll try not to," she said. "But I am on a deadline right now. _Five_ new songs by next week."

"Good thing you have the notebook then," Rob said.

Lenni still had the notebook in her hand and Rob opened it.

"Anything with notes by it," he said, "are poems that could be set to music. The ones with stars are the ones I really like."

"What about the ones…with hearts," Lenni asked slyly.

"Take a wild guess," Rob said, getting up. "Come on. I'll walk you home."

Lenni smiled as Rob put his arm around her in a protective way and brought her to her door.

"Thanks for coming home, Rob," she said. "And for the notebook. This'll _really_ help me out."

"Least I could do," he said, waving his arms. "If it wasn't for you…I might not have come home at all."

Lenni sighed as Rob skipped down the stairs, got on his board, and skated away into the night.

Gaby opened the store the next morning and gave a smile as she looked up. Alex came into the store and also noticed it.

"Hey," he said. "Lenni's playing again."

"Guess she found out Rob is back," Gaby said. "I _knew_ that would cheer her up."

"He probably gave her that notebook too," said Alex. "Maybe there's something in there she can use."

Gaby nodded as Alex left while Hector came in, also looking up.

"Lenni's playing again?"

"Yep," Gaby said. "Rob is back, so she must be feeling better."

"I guess," said Hector. "But I sure wish he could help me too. This running a store thing is hard."

"Rob's a writer, not a businessman," Gaby said. "Which is why you need _me_."

Rob panted as he finally caught up to Victor, who barely even broke a sweat.

"Man," Victor said. "You get _any_ kind of exercise in Australia man?"

"Well…I tried to get into surfing," Rob said. "But I kept wiping out and gave up."

"You got a nice tan though," Victor grinned. "Miguel can't go callin' you white boy now."

"He will if I'm here long enough," Rob said, looking at the sky. "Looks like rain."

"Man," Victor frowned. "Been raining all week. Guy can't catch a break."

"We might need shelter if it starts coming down," Rob said. "Let's try to get to the bodega."

Hector had just finished the books when Victor and Rob came in. Gaby gave a smile as the music echoed through the roof.

"Hey Gaby," Victor smiled.

"Hi Victor," Gaby said. "Hi Rob."

Rob gave a tired wave as Hector cocked his head.

"You okay?" he asked.

"He's out of shape is what he is," Victor said, grabbing some cold drinks. "Come on college boy. Bein' down under done make you weak and flabby."

Rob gave him a look and took the drink.

"Don't you work at the tailor shop?" Hector asked.

"Yeah," Victor said. "Today's my day off…so I'm getting my punk roommate in shape."

"You're rooming with Victor?" asked Gaby.

"Just for now," Rob said. "Dorms aren't open yet. Sure hope I'm not stuck with an athlete like him…or I may not survive the first semester."

"You don't get your own room?" Hector asked.

Rob shook his head.

"University policy," he said. "First year students with a full load of classes _have_ to live on campus and _have_ to stay with a roommate in the dorm. It's supposed to make you part of the campus community."

Hector nodded and Gaby rolled her eyes as Lenni came in.

"Hey guys," she said brightly.

"Hey Lenni," Gaby said. "Your music sounds great."

"Thanks," Lenni said. "I may just make this deadline after all. Rob's notebook gave me all sorts of great new ideas."

"You're welcome," Rob said.

"You wanna come up and listen to some?" Lenni asked, grabbing some things.

"Sure," Rob said. "If you don't mind that I'm all sweaty."

"So long as you stay off the couch," said Lenni.

"You sure Rob?" Victor asked. "We gotta get home before it rains."

"If it's gonna rain, I'd prefer to be stuck at Lenni's," Rob said. "She can actually cook."

"Oh very funny," Victor said. "I'm gonna grab some Chinese. Bye."

Lenni gave Rob a look.

"She can _cook_?" she asked.

"Have you ever tried Victor's cooking?" Rob asked. "Tastes like something that got run over by a garbage truck."

"Okay okay," Lenni said. "Come on, I'll make you some lunch."

Rob danced around the apartment as Lenni played one of the new songs. She laughed and turned off the keyboard.

"I guess you like that one," she laughed.

"Seeing as I wrote it," he said in a smug voice. "I never thought of it having such a catchy tune."

"Well I'm _definitely_ putting it on the album," Lenni said. "Not sure if it would do for a single though. I need a real hit for that."

Rob sat at the counter and ate the rest of the sandwich Lenni had made for him while Lenni looked through the notebook.

"There's so many in here though," she said.

"Five years worth," Rob said with his mouth full.

"I know," Lenni said, bringing him the book. "I marked the ones I might make songs out of. What do you think?"

Rob looked over the notebook and nodded.

"You picked good ones," he said. "I wrote this after I had a fight with Cole…and we had to patch things up before school started."

"What about this one?" Lenni asked, raising an eyebrow. "Seems a girl liked you."

"She did," Rob sighed. "I wrote that to uh…let her down easy. We're still friends…and she was going out with Brad when I left."

"Nice," said Lenni. "I love this one about the beach. It's almost like you're really there."

"That was the idea," Rob smiled. "I did the same thing here…when we took a trip to the outback."

Lenni gave him a look.

"But…Australia…is the outback…isn't it?"

"Not all of it," said Rob. "The Outback is western Australia. It's a wide vast plain with a lot of wildlife."

Lenni nodded as Rob looked out the window.

"Seems the rain stopped," he said. "I'd better get back before it starts again. Thanks for lunch."

"No problem," Lenni said.

Lenni smiled to herself as Rob jogged out the door, wishing it had rained a while longer.

That Monday, Rob got registered for his classes and found his new dorm. Victor helped him move his things, although he didn't have very much.

"How come all you got are notebooks?" Victor asked.

"Be glad they aren't hardbacks," Rob said. "I'd need the whole team to move in. Now let's see…518."

Rob looked in the room and saw another young man with his mother fussing over him.

"And if you need anything at all, don't be afraid to call home."

"I'm _fine_ Mom! I can handle it."

"Oh no," Rob groaned. "Don't tell me."

"Oh look Sweetie," said the woman turning around. "This must be your new roommate."

Rob took a look at the young man and tried very hard to keep a straight face. His roommate was also struggling with this as he recognized Rob in an instant.

"Wait a minute," he said. "I thought you left."

"Seems I didn't leave long enough," Rob groaned.

Rob stared hard as his roommate, but knew it was no use. Nothing he could do would change the fact that he was now face to face with Calvin Ferguson.


	3. Chapter 3

WELCOME HOME – PART THREE

"Oh how wonderful!" said Calvin's mother. "You already know each other!"

"We've met," Rob said, putting his stuff on the empty bed.

"So nice you have a friend, Sweetie," Calvin's mother said. "I won't worry about you so much."

"I'm _fine_, Ma," Calvin said. "You can go now. The Party Animal ain't gonna run itself."

"All right," she said. "But feel free to come by anytime the cafeteria food upsets your stomach. Your friend is free to come too."

Rob gave a weak grin and nodded as Calvin's mother left. Victor raised his eyebrows and put down the other box.

"You gonna be all right man?" he asked.

"It's cool," Rob said, shaking his hand. "Thanks."

Victor left and Rob sat on the bed, giving Calvin a hard stare. Calvin returned it, leaning on the closet door.

"Where'd you run off to anyway?" he asked. "It's been what? Ten years?"

"You must not be majoring in math," Rob said. "I've only been gone for five."

"Excuse me," Calvin said. "Perhaps your presence wasn't worth remembering."

"Yours sure wasn't," Rob said, crossing his arms.

"Then what'd you come back for?"

"It certainly wasn't to be rooming with _you_," Rob said, getting up to put his things away. "This is going to be a _long_ year."

Lenni was so excited as her friends gathered to hear her new songs. Hector and Gaby arrived first and Alex came later with Tina.

"Just waiting on Rob now," Lenni said.

"He had enrollment today," Gaby said.

"How'd you know?" asked Alex.

"What Victor said this morning," Gaby grinned. "He was going to help him move in."

Alex raised an eyebrow as Hector scowled. There was a knock on the door and Lenni let Rob in.

"Hey Rob," Lenni said. "How was enrollment?"

"Oh that part was fine," Rob sighed. "Got all the classes I needed…worked out a payment plan with finance…all was going great…until I found my room."

Rob flopped down on the couch as the others looked at each other.

"What's wrong?" Gaby asked. "Does your room have bugs or something?"

"It has a rat in it," Rob sighed. "A rat named _Calvin_."

The others let out a gasp.

"No!" Lenni cried.

"You have to room with _Calvin_?" Alex asked.

"Yep," Rob grinned. "I come all the way back from Australia…just so I can get stuck in a room with Calvin Ferguson…for one…whole…year."

"Oh _please_ don't tell me you're going back," Lenni whined, sitting down next to him.

"No no no," Rob said. "I went through _far_ too much trouble to get here to let Booger-Bat stand in my way."

Lenni smiled as Rob put his hand over hers.

"But you didn't invite us all over to hear me complain," he said. "Let's hear the new songs."

Lenni smiled and got up to play the music. The first was the song Rob had heard before and the other three were new. Everyone was dancing as Lenni played them and applauded when she finished.

"That was great," Gaby said. "Now you can make your deadline."

"Thanks to Rob," Lenni smiled.

Rob gave a shrug.

"Which one is the single?" he asked.

"Oh that one isn't finished yet," she said. "But it's going to be _great_. And before I forget…"

Lenni went to the counter and pulled out some papers, which she handed to Rob.

"Jade needs you to sign these," she said.

"What's that?" Gaby asked.

"Well Rob wrote the words to these songs," Lenni said. "So we need his permission to record them…and he'll also get a share of the royalties."

"Actually," Rob said, signing the papers. "It'll all be going to NYU. I got bills like you wouldn't believe."

"You could always get a loan," Tina said. "That's what Tuan did."

But Rob shook his head.

"Agreement with Dad was that I pay for it without loans," he sighed. "He's trying to get me into the military."

"Well you get to go free that way," Alex said.

"That was his main argument," Rob said. "And I do appreciate the military and all they do. But for once in my life, I'd like to choose for myself where I want to live and for how long."

"Can't really blame you there," said Lenni.

"Yeah," Rob sighed. "Although I might not have chosen NYU if I knew I'd get stuck with Calvin."

"I'm with ya there," Alex frowned.

"But look Rob," Lenni said. "You're gonna have to find a way to get along with Calvin…or at least tolerate him being around."

Rob let out a groan.

"I know," he said. "But this is _not_ going to be easy."

"I didn't say it would be," Lenni said. "But it's getting late…and you're going to have to face him sooner or later."

The next day, Lenni smiled as she took off the headphones after recording the new single. Jade and Sonia both applauded.

"That sounded _great_," Sonia said. "It's a definite hit."

"Well…we'll see," Lenni said modestly.

"Did your friend write that too?" Jade asked.

"Yes," Lenni said. "But um…he wrote it to me…so I had to change it around so it'd be me singing it to _him_."

"Okay," Jade said, pulling out another contract. "So you'll both get writing credit…and he needs to sign this too."

"I'll take it to him," Lenni said, taking the contract. "If it _is_ a hit, he'll be able to pay his school bills."

Lenni took the contract over to the University. She went to Rob's dorm, but there was a group gathered outside. She gave a puzzled looked and joined the crowd.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Couple of boneheaded freshmen got into a fistfight," said one of the students. "Looks like the RA is kicking them out of the dorm."

"For good?" Lenni asked.

"Nah," said another student. "This happened last term too. They get kicked out for the night…and usually start getting along after that. _Usually_."

Lenni bit her lip and hoped it wasn't who she was thinking it was. But as she looked over the crowd she gave a groan and shook her head. A stern resident assistant was glaring at Rob and Calvin, who both had bruised faces and bloody knuckles. Rob looked up and swallowed hard as his eyes met hers and she shook her head.


	4. Chapter 4

WELCOME HOME – PART FOUR

Rob closed his eyes, feeling freshly ashamed. The crowd finally dispersed, leaving him alone on the sidewalk next to Calvin, who was growling.

"Just great," he muttered. "Now what do we do?"

"What're you complaining about?" Rob spat. "At least you have a place to go."

"Oh no," Calvin said, holding up a finger. "I am _not_ going home to tell my mother about this. Do you have _any_ idea what'd she do to me?"

Rob gave a sigh and nodded.

"Okay, you made your point," he said. "I'm certainly not telling _my_ parents."

"They'd ship you back to Australia, eh?"

"Worse," Rob said. "They'd make me join the army…and I'd be moving from base to base the rest of my life."

Rob sat down hard on the sidewalk and buried his hands in his hair. All he could think about was Lenni's cold stare. Calvin flopped down next to him and crossed his arms.

"So what now?" he asked.

"You're asking me?"

"You're the one with all the friends," Calvin said. "Surely one of them will put us up for the night. Who's that guy you were staying with before?"

"Victor," Rob sighed. "But his brother moved in already. He wouldn't have room."

"Oh," Calvin said. "Jamal still around? He was pretty level-headed."

"He's in Texas," Rob sighed. "Alex is the one who stayed here."

"Well that won't do," Calvin grunted. "He never got over the smear thing."

Rob gave Calvin a look of amusement, as Calvin rolled his eyes. Then Calvin snapped his fingers.

"Jeffery," he said. "He's got his own place now."

"That bumbling sidekick of yours?" Rob asked.

"Hey now," Calvin said. "He's our best shot. Jeffery _loves_ me…and should be willing to put up with _you_."

Rob rolled his eyes as they both got up and made their way off campus.

"They were _fighting_?" Gaby gasped.

"Majorly," Lenni sighed, shaking her head. "I thought Rob would know better than that."

"I don't know," Gaby said. "He _did_ walk into a gang's hideout once."

"And he has _very_ little patience for Calvin," said Hector. "Hates him almost as much as Alex does."

Lenni cocked her head as Hector counted out the money in the register.

"I got it right that time," he said.

"See?" Gaby told him. "I knew you'd get the hang of it."

They all looked up as Alex came in, eating a donut.

"Hey guys," he said. "You won't believe what I just saw."

"We know Rob is back in town already," Gaby said.

"But this time I saw him and Calvin…walking side by side…and _laughing_," Alex said.

Lenni raised her eyebrows.

"Laughing?" she asked.

"Maybe they're getting along now," said Gaby.

"No way," said Hector. "Rob never forgave Calvin for…"

Hector quickly bit his lip as the others looked at him.

"For what?" asked Alex.

"I'm not supposed to say," Hector said.

"Probably for trying to break up the team," Lenni said.

"We already knew about that though," said Gaby.

"For making him give away Ghostwriter?" asked Alex.

"We knew about that too," Lenni said, looking at Hector.

But Hector was busily writing in the ledger again and grabbed the money bag.

"I'll uh…deposit this now," he said, running out.

"Let me get this straight," Calvin chuckled. "You wanted to find Victor…and walk straight into the gang's hideout?"

"Yeah," Rob said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Trust me Calvin. You ain't got _nothing_ on the Thunderheads."

"Seems you were the team idiot," Calvin said.

"I guess I was," Rob sighed. "That isn't even the dumbest thing I did."

"It's not?"

"Shoot no," Rob said, giving a grin. "The dumbest one was looking for a homeless guy in an abandoned subway tunnel…and getting trapped underground."

Calvin stared as Rob told him the story. Calvin peered at him and held up a finger.

"You mean to tell me…that you turned down help from your little gang…and wound up getting trapped underground?"

"Yep," Rob told him.

"How'd you get out?"

Rob gave him a significant look and Calvin nodded.

"They had Ghostwriter find you, didn't they?"

"I didn't say a word," Rob said. "But trust me. There's a reason I'm still alive in spite of being so stupid."

Calvin nodded and led the way to an apartment, knocking on the door. A familiar young man opened it and frowned.

"All right Calvin," he said. "What happened _this_ time?"

"Now Jeffery," Calvin said, rather sarcastically. "Is that any way to greet your best friend? You remember Rob, right?"

Jeffery gave Rob a strange look.

"Didn't you move away?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rob shrugged. "I came back for college…and get stuck with _him_ as my roommate. We just got kicked out of the dorm for fighting."

Jeffery looked at Calvin, who gave a casual shrug.

"Great way to start your college career, isn't it?" he said. "Don't worry Jeff. We just need to crash for the night."

"Feel free," Jeffery said. "But don't you two start fighting _here_."

"We'll do our best," Rob said. "Can't promise anything."

They both came in and Jeffery let them have some instant noodles and bottled water. He then sat down to hear the story of the fight.

"Oh good grief," Jeffery said. "You guys are in _college_. Can't you make up for stupid stuff that happened five years ago?"

Calvin rolled his eyes and Rob crossed his arms.

"Fine," he said. "I'm sorry I told the team about your booger-bat…and the Coney Island thing."

"Thanks," Calvin said. "I'm sorry I was smearing Alex."

"And I'm sorry we accused you of stealing Cutsie," Rob sighed.

"And I'm sorry I tried to break up your team…and tricked you into telling me about GW."

Rob nodded and Calvin gave a grin.

"And uh…I'm sorry for asking Lenni out after you left."

Rob shot him a look and Jeffery raised his eyebrows as Calvin grinned even more.

"That's the real sore spot, isn't it?" he asked, shaking a finger at him. "You never got to ask her out."

Rob said nothing but looked away as he crossed his arms. Jeffery scratched his head.

"But…she turned you down," he said to Calvin.

"Well yeah," Calvin said. "She was nice enough to go to Attila's funeral though."

"And said your singing was terrible," Rob sneered.

"Maybe," Calvin said. "But you can't blame me for her going to prom with that Chinese guy."

"Vietnamese," Rob hissed. "Tina's brother."

"Whatever," Calvin shrugged. "All Asians look the same."

"But…didn't she break up with that guy?" Jeffery asked.

"Of course," Calvin grinned. "There was an article about it in Teen Beat magazine…and I noticed Rob had it under his pillow."

"Your stuffed booger-bat was under yours," Rob said.

"We don't need to go into how the fight started," Jeffery sighed. "You guys need to call a truce."

"Who made you referee?" Rob asked.

"You did by invading my house," Jeffery said. "Now are you two going to call a truce? Or do I throw you out too?"

The next morning, Rob and Calvin were making their way back to college and passed the bodega. Lenni was sitting on the steps outside, looking at a CD and looked up at them.

"Well?" she asked, rather sternly.

Rob sighed.

"We called a truce."

"Good," she said. "And are you two going to get kicked out of the dorm again?"

"No," Rob said quietly.

"Man," said Calvin. "She's as bad as Jeff."

"You stayed with Jeffery?" Lenni asked, making a face.

"Only one who'd put up with both of us at the same time," Rob sighed. "Good man, Jeff. Gets up way too early though."

"Well he can't afford college yet," Calvin said. "And is _also_ avoiding the military. Why he works as a garbage man with the early shift."

Lenni shook her head as Rob shrugged.

"We'd uh…better get back to school," he said. "I got class at nine."

"Hold on," Lenni said, pulling out a paper. "There _is_ a reason I saw the two of you getting thrown out."

Rob took the paper and raised his eyebrows.

"This for the single?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lenni said. "I changed the words a bit…but you still get half writing credit. Sonia thinks it'll be big."

Rob shrugged but signed the contract and handed it back to her.

"Which poem did you use?" he asked.

"_Words I Never Sent._"

Rob's eyes grew wide as saucers as Lenni grinned and skipped down the stairs and looked up at him rather innocently.

"Although I uh…changed the title to _Words YOU Never Sent_," she said. "I hope that's okay."

Rob went rather red and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sounds good," he said. "Makes sense…with you singing it."

"Good," she said. "I'd better get this to my producer then."

Rob watched as she skipped away and Calvin raised an eyebrow.

"You uh…mind telling me what _that _was all about?"

Rob kept staring at Lenni and let out his breath.

"You'll get it when you hear that song."

Later that week, Rob was busy scribbling notes in class. Erica Dansby was seated next to him with the latest laptop and grinning at him.

"Still stuck in the stone age?" she asked.

"I want to remember what he's talking about," Rob muttered, still scribbling. "Sticks in your mind when you write it out by hand."

Erica peered at him and kept typing. When class ended, she turned to him with a flirtatious smile.

"I'm having a wild bash on Friday night," she said. "You want to come?"

Rob raised an eyebrow and collected his things. While he tried to ignore her, she went on a few more minutes about how great her party was going to be.

"Um…I gotta get to class," Rob said finally.

"Well let me know if you can make it," she smiled.

Rob tried very hard not to roll his eyes as he made his way out. He actually didn't have a class for another couple of hours, so he made his way to the dorm. When he got to the room, he saw Calvin was talking on the phone with his usual smug, silky voice.

"Oh you're in luck," Calvin said. "He just walked in. Have a beautiful day, Lenni."

Rob glared at Calvin and took the phone.

"Hi," he said.

"Thank goodness," Lenni said, sounding exasperated. "I've been on the line with Booger-Bat for a good ten minutes waiting for you to get out of class."

"Sorry about that," Rob sighed. "Got held up for a while. What's up?"

"Jade _loves_ the new single," Lenni said, now sounding excited. "She wants to do a video for it."

"Great," Rob said. "Do I uh…need to sign anything for that?"

"Oh no," Lenni said. "But I want you to be in the video."

Rob paused a while.

"Come again?" he asked.

"I want you in the video," Lenni said. "I mean…you _did_ write the poem and everything. And you didn't get to be in the other ones."

"Neither did Alex or Tina," Rob shrugged.

"Alex opted out voluntarily," Lenni said. "And Tina's going to be filming this one."

"Wow. They'll let her do that?"

"Yeah," Lenni said. "She doesn't get to direct or edit, just run the camera. But she _does_ get school credit for this and is totally psyched."

"Cool," Rob said. "When are you filming it?"

"We know you and Tina both have classes," Lenni said. "I told them it'd have to be Saturday."

"I can do that," Rob said. "Was hoping for Friday night, but I guess it should be done during the day."

"Yeah," Lenni said. "What's going on Friday night?"

"Something I was hoping to get out of," Rob said. "But don't worry about it."

"So you're in?"

"Yeah, I'm in," Rob shrugged.

"Great! See you Saturday!"

Rob smiled and hung up the phone. Calvin sighed and shook his head.

"How do you _do_ that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Get all the babes!" Calvin whined. "Lenni wants you for a video…and Erica invites _you_ to her big party."

"You heard about that?" Rob asked. "She was asking me like…20 minutes ago."

"She was bragging about it yesterday in my history class," Calvin grunted. "Super exclusive party…and only the hottest guys hand-picked by her get to go…along with her closest friends. And she specifically mentioned inviting _you_."

Rob rolled his eyes and put his books away as Calvin shook his head.

"Man," Calvin said. "What I wouldn't do to get into that party. Erica Dansby is one hot chick."

Rob paused and looked at him.

"You _like_ her?" he asked.

"You _don't_?" Calvin asked. "But of course, you got the hots for Lenni Frazier."

Rob gave him a look and then cocked a grin. Calvin peered at him.

"What you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking…of being just as devious as _you_ are," Rob said.

The next day, Rob was ready when Erica started flirting with him after class and invited him to her party again.

"It'd be such a shame for you to miss it," she said smiling.

"Well…maybe," he said. "But could I bring my roommate along? I'd hate for him to be left out."

"Oh sure," Erica said sweetly. "That's no problem at all."

Rob smiled and left for the dorm. Calvin sat up as Rob grinned, although he didn't say anything until Calvin got impatient.

"WELL?"

"She says my roommate can tag along," Rob shrugged.

"You didn't tell her it was me?"

"Shoot no," Rob said. "Whole point is to get you in."

Calvin made a face but Rob waved his hand.

"Relax," he said. "Just turn on the old Ferguson charm and you'll have her eating out of your hand…and off of my back."

Meanwhile, Erica had gone to a computer shop for more discs. She spotted Tina there getting more film.

"Days of old film are numbered," Erica said. "It'll all be digital before you know it."

"You said that last year," Tina said. "Although it does seem to be going that way."

"Just you wait," Erica said. "People will be putting photos on the internet as soon as they're taken. Great parties like the one I'm having will be broadcast coast to coast."

"Better not do anything you don't want people seeing then," Tina pointed out.

"Well I won't," Erica grinned. "But I can't say the same for my guests. Ol' Rob has a reputation for getting into dumb situations."

Tina raised an eyebrow.

"Rob is going?"

"Of course," Erica grinned. "He couldn't resist."

On Friday, Tina was going over the storyboard for the music video with Lenni's director. Lenni smiled when she came in and saw it.

"It looks great," she said.

"And shouldn't be too difficult to shoot," Tina said. "Although I hope the weather is clear tomorrow."

"Should be," Lenni said. "I was thinking of having you guys go over this with Rob tonight."

"Oh," said Tina. "I heard he has…plans tonight."

Lenni gave her a look.

"You did?" she asked.

"Well…I ran into Erica the other day," Tina said. "She told me Rob was coming to some party she's having."

"Erica Dansby?" Lenni asked.

"She was at the computer shop," Tina shrugged.

Lenni paused and then picked up the phone, dialing Rob's room number. She then frowned and hung up.

"No answer," she said. "I guess…he did go out."

"Calvin must've gone out too," Tina said. "Maybe they went together."

"That's rather hard to picture," Lenni said, half laughing.

But Lenni looked rather confused and even angry. Tina bit her lip, wondering if she should have said anything.


	5. Chapter 5

WELCOME HOME – PART FIVE

"Why hello there!" Erica said sweetly.

"Hi," Rob said. "You remember Calvin right?"

"Calvin?" Erica asked, giving a laugh. "You're rooming with _him_?"

"I seem to attract irritating people," Rob said, coming inside.

Erica made a face as Rob went straight to the food table. Calvin however, slid right up next to her.

"Ignore him," Calvin said. "Australia kind of messed with his head…and he thinks he's a wallaby."

Erica looked at him but Calvin immediately started asking her about computers. Rob grinned as they fell into an active conversation and checked his watch.

"Hope I can get out of here by nine," he muttered. "Tina wants to start shooting early."

The next morning, Tina was a bit nervous as Lenni seemed to be in a sour mood. They were out at Coney Island Beach and the sky was mostly cloudy. Tina was glad of this, as it reflected the tone of the song, as well as Lenni's present mood.

"Well…we seem to have good conditions for the video," Tina said.

"Where's Rob though?" Lenni said, sounding irritated. "He better not have overslept."

Tina swallowed hard but then saw Rob on his skateboard, gliding towards the beach. He picked up the board where the sand began and walked over to them, smiling brightly.

"Well _somebody_ seems to be in a good mood," Lenni scowled. "You must've really enjoyed that party."

Rob raised an eyebrow.

"You heard I was at a party?" he asked.

Lenni looked at Tina, who shrugged.

"I ran into Erica at the computer shop," Tina said. "She uh…mentioned it."

"Oh," said Rob. "That makes sense then. I just thought it was strange you heard about it since I was only there for about 20 minutes."

Lenni and Tina looked at each other and then at Rob.

"Why only 20 minutes?" Tina asked.

"Well I didn't really want to go at all," Rob said. "But Calvin has this mad crush on Erica, so I told her I'd go if I could bring my roommate with me. It was about 20 minutes into the party that the two of them started making out on the couch."

Tina covered her face as Lenni gagged.

"Oh _gross_," she said.

"Calvin and _Erica_?" Tina winced.

"Yeah," Rob laughed. "I was out of there once that started. Figured Calvin could fend for himself."

"So the whole reason you went was to set up _Calvin_?" Lenni asked.

"You wanted us to get along, didn't you?" Rob asked innocently. "And Erica keeps bugging me after psychology. This gets _both_ of them off my back."

Lenni raised her eyebrows as Rob cocked his head.

"You didn't think I _wanted_ to go, did you?" he asked. "I was hoping this video would get me out of it completely."

"Oh no," Lenni said quickly. "Of course not."

Tina gave Lenni a look as Rob grinned again.

"Yeah…about the _video_," Tina said finally.

Tina got both Lenni and Rob to sit down as she discussed the scenes they were going to shoot.

"Lenni will walk down the beach singing," Tina said. "Rob will be walking the other way with a letter, as if he's thinking about sending it. He'll then go to the mailbox as if he's going to…but then walk away without doing it."

"Sounds a lot like what actually happened," Rob said, pulling out a letter. "Can I use this one?"

Tina cocked her head as Lenni narrowed her eyes.

"What's that?" she asked.

"The letter I was writing about," Rob said, giving a shrug. "The one…I never sent."

Lenni looked at the letter, which had her address and even a stamp. Tina gave a smile and nodded.

"Go ahead," she said. "Using the actual letter creates the right mood. Just don't give it to Lenni."

"Hey," Lenni said.

"Sorry," said Tina. "But your song has a lot of mystery in it, since you don't know what's in the letter. If you read it now, we won't be able to catch that part on video."

Lenni sighed and looked at Rob, who shook his head.

"Don't look at me," he said. "I agree with her."

Lenni frowned but nodded. She went with Tina, who had the camera set up and they started filming. Tina then turned the camera around to film Rob from the other direction. She then set up the camera by a mailbox to film Rob almost mailing the letter.

"And…cut," Tina said. "That should do it."

"Wow," Lenni said. "This went a lot more smoothly than the last one."

"We only had two actors this time," Tina said. "And both of you seem to know _exactly_ the mood we're going for."

"Well this song _is_ pretty real," Lenni said, peering at Rob. "Can I read the letter _now_?"

Rob raised an eyebrow and looked at Tina, who shook her head.

"Let the editor decide if we need to do anymore shooting," she said.

"Ugh," Lenni said.

"You're the boss," Rob said, giving a wink.

Tina laughed and took the camera to the editor while Lenni and Rob went to lunch. Tina joined them later and said the editor had all he needed.

"We should have a completed video by Friday," Tina grinned.

"Great," Lenni said, looking at Rob. "So…can I read the letter now?"

Rob gave a sigh and looked at the letter. He then got up and walked back out to the beach. Tina raised an eyebrow as Lenni shook her head.

"I don't get it," she said. "I mean…I'm right here. Why won't he let me read it?"

"Well…think about the song," Tina said. "It tells you all the reasons he never sent it."

"Yeah," Lenni said. "So?"

"So…he probably still feels that way _now_," Tina said. "There's something in that letter he wants to tell you, but is afraid to. Moving back to New York didn't change anything."

Lenni bit her lip and nodded as she looked out at Rob, who was staring at the letter as if wondering what to do with it. She gave a sigh and went over to him, standing next to him and looking out at the water.

"You don't have to give it to me…if you don't want to," she said.

But Rob shook his head and held the letter out to her. Lenni raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said. "I've held on to it long enough."

Lenni nodded and nervously took the letter. She opened it and found a poem inside. A poem far more beautiful and touching than anything in the notebook. A poem that told her what she was hoping was true. She looked up at Rob, who was gazing out over the ocean.

"Wow," she said. "This is even better than the song we just did."

"Don't…even…think about it," Rob said, giving her a look.

She gave a laugh.

"Yeah. I see what you mean."

She looked up at him and bit her lip.

"You really mean it?"

Rob gave her a shy smile.

"I wouldn't have written it if I didn't."

Lenni smiled and looked down at the letter.

"I was hoping…this is what it was," she said, as her face grew warm.

"You were?"

Lenni gave a shy nod.

"I was uh…more than a little jealous when I thought you went to that party."

Rob gave a slight laugh.

"I uh…sort of noticed," he said. "But seriously, you didn't need to be."

Lenni's face grew warmer as Rob turned to face her. He swallowed hard, but she simply waited, gazing into his dark eyes. As he leaned closer, she closed her eyes. She finally felt his trembling fingers touch her face, and his chapped lips just barely brushing hers. Lenni sighed and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him. Behind them, Lenni's father raised an eyebrow as Tina stifled a giggle.

"Should we uh…tell them it's time to go?" Lenni's father asked.

"Maybe give them just a few more minutes," Tina said.


	6. Chapter 6

THE UNWANTED PHOTO OP (Fall 1999) – PART ONE

Lenni was in an exceptionally good mood as she wrote her songs for the next album. She used Rob's notebook on a regular basis, either to use the poems directly or simply for inspiration. A few weeks later, her producer handed her an envelope and Lenni gasped when she opened it.

"This much?" she asked.

"The single is climbing the charts at a steady clip," Jade smiled. "It's already in the top ten. I have a check for your friend too."

"Oh wow," Lenni said. "Can I take it to him?"

Jade smiled and handed her the check. Lenni took it and raced over to the university. She went to the dorm, but neither Rob nor Calvin was there. The RA told her they were likely in class.

"But it's almost 10:30," he said. "You might catch him on his way out."

Lenni thanked the RA and raced over to the other buildings. She finally spotted Rob, who was getting around by skateboard and wearing a bright orange bandana. He spotted her and skidded to a stop.

"What's up?" he asked, picking up his board.

"These just came today," she said, handing him the envelope.

Rob opened it and his eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.

"Are…you…serious?" he asked.

"Yes," she grinned. "And mine is even more."

Rob stared at the check and then started towards one of the buildings. Lenni trotted after him.

"Where are you going?"

"Finance, of course," he said. "I think it's enough."

Lenni raised her eyebrows and Rob went right to the payment window. The secretary looked up his record and then looked at the check.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"I got writing credit for some songs," Rob said. "It's a royalty check. _Please_ tell me it's enough."

"Mr. Baker," the secretary smiled. "It's _exactly _enough to pay your balance for this year."

Rob laughed and Lenni squealed. Rob then picked her up in his arms and swung her around. Lenni laughed and Rob kissed her fully. She gladly returned it as the secretary giggled.

"Mr. Baker," she said. "You still need to endorse it."

"Oh right," he said, turning back to her. "Sorry. Got a little excited."

"You're not the first," the secretary smiled. "Okay _now_ I can clear your balance. Feel free to go back to what you were doing."

Rob went slightly red as Lenni giggled again. He gave her a smile and she squeezed his hand.

"So…you'll get to keep the next one right?" she asked. "Jade says the single is climbing the charts."

"It'll be going into the bank for next year," Rob sighed. "But hey. If this keeps up, I can graduate debt-free. You have any idea how _rare_ that is?"

"If she doesn't, _I_ sure do," the secretary said, handing him his receipt.

Rob took the receipt and turned back to Lenni, who jumped in his arms and kissed him again. He sighed and kissed her back for some time. But unbeknownst to them, someone was around the corner with a camera, snapping a picture.


	7. Chapter 7

THE UNWANTED PHOTO OP – PART TWO

Lenni let out a gasp when Sonia showed her the cover of _Teen Beat_.

"How did they get a picture of _that_?" she gasped.

"Lenni, you _are_ getting to be more of a celebrity," Sonia said. "Someone likely recognized you when you were visiting your boyfriend."

Lenni swallowed hard as she looked at the picture.

"Oh no," she groaned. "What's _Rob_ going to say about this?"

Rob stormed into the room and glared at his roommate, who was casually leaning back on his bed. Calvin raised an eyebrow as Rob held up the magazine.

"All right Booger-Bat," Rob snapped. "Spill it. Did you take this?"

Calvin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't lookit me pal," he said. "You're the one dating a celebrity. Might was well get used to paparazzi."

Rob sighed and shook his head.

"This wasn't paparazzi," he said. "It had to be someone _here_ who happened to see Lenni coming to see me Friday afternoon."

Calvin raised his other eyebrow and gave a smug grin.

"Well I have an alibi," he said. "I have class Friday afternoons…and always go for coffee with Erica afterwards."

Rob calmed down a bit and looked at the magazine, rubbing his chin.

"All right," he said. "And what time were you two having coffee?"

"Two o'clock."

Rob nodded.

"That clears her too," he sighed. "This would've been around 2:15."

"You're welcome," Calvin said. "You gonna make a whole casebook like you used to?"

"I should," Rob said, getting out a notebook. "I might get the others in on this too."

Rob thought for a minute before writing _Rally L _in the notebook. Calvin raised an eyebrow as Rob gathered his things.

"I'm going to Lenni's," he said. "She probably already knows about this."

"Anything I can do to help?" Calvin asked.

Rob gave him a suspicious look as he shrugged.

"I know I'm not part of your little _gang_," he said. "But I _do_ know what you're up to."

"Right," Rob said. "How about you meet with your girlfriend then? See if she knows anyone that's a fan of Lenni's…and knew she was here on Friday."

"I can do that," Calvin said. "Have fun with GW."

Meanwhile in the studio, Tina had been watching the latest music videos when Lenni came in. She rather reluctantly showed her the magazine and Tina gasped.

"Oh no!"

"I know," Lenni groaned. "It's just like the situation with Tuan. Rob is going to be furious!"

"Does he know about this?"

"I don't know yet," Lenni said nervously. "I'm uh…afraid to call him."

"Lenni," Tina said. "You're going to have to face him sooner or later. One of the reasons Tuan was so angry was that you waited so long to talk to him."

"I know," Lenni said. "It's just…I'm still scared. What if he dumps me like Tuan did?"

Tina sighed and put her hand on Lenni's shoulder.

"Lenni…Rob is _nothing_ like Tuan," she said. "You don't know if he's going to react the same way."

"But he still might…"

"I can't promise he won't," Tina said, shaking her head. "But you _do_ need to find out. The sooner the better."

Lenni bit her lip as Tina looked up.

"Hey," she said. "Someone's calling a rally…at your place."

"Oh great," Lenni said. "Rob _has_ seen it."

"You sure it's Rob?" Tina asked.

"Well he told me last week that if he needs to call a rally, he'll always call it at my house," she said. "He lives with _Calvin_, remember?"

"Oh right," Tina said. "Well we better go then…or no one will be able to get in."

Gaby and Hector saw the rally message in the bodega and looked at each other.

"Lenni's at work," Hector said. "How can she be calling a rally?"

"I guess she's coming home," Gaby said. "Think you can mind the store? Or should I do it?"

"I'll stay here," Hector said. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of things. Just fill me in later, okay?"

Gaby nodded as she saw Lenni and Tina outside and went to join them. They all went upstairs and Lenni showed Gaby the magazine. Gaby raised her eyebrows as she let out a whistle.

"You called a rally because someone took your picture?" she asked.

"No," said Lenni. "I didn't call this rally. I'm guessing _Rob_ did."

"Oh right," Gaby said. "He did mention that we can't rally in his dorm with Calvin there."

"Yeah," Lenni said, looking at the magazine. "I'll bet this picture is the reason for the rally though."

Gaby nodded as there was a knock on the door. Tina went to open it and let in Rob and Alex.

"I take it you saw the picture," Lenni winced.

"I saw it," Rob frowned. "Hence why I called a rally. Someone at NYU is sneaking around with a camera."

"I was telling him it could've been Calvin," Alex said. "But he's got an alibi."

"He does?" Lenni asked.

"He was in class Friday afternoon," Rob said. "And had coffee with Erica afterwards. Had to be someone else."

"Well…who else knew Lenni was there?" Tina asked.

Rob sat down with the casebook as Lenni tapped her chin.

"Well the first guy I talked to…was your RA," she said. "He told me where you had class."

Rob nodded and listed him down as Alex cocked his head.

"Isn't that who kicked you and Calvin out of the dorm?"

"Yes," Rob sighed. "He says it works every time. Calvin and I get along a lot better now."

"You should still list that under evidence though," Gaby said.

Rob nodded and wrote it down before turning to Lenni again.

"Was there anyone else who saw you at the dorm?" he asked. "Any of the other guys?"

"Um…a few," she said. "There was a little guy…in the room next to yours. Wore glasses."

"Arnie," Rob said, writing him down.

"I know him," Tina said. "He comes to the camera shop a lot. Keeps drooling over the new digital ones on display."

"Ooh," said Gaby. "That's a big clue."

Rob nodded and wrote the clues down. Then Lenni mentioned the guy across the hall.

"He kind of did a double-take when he saw me," she said. "I think he knew who I was. Had blond hair…and wore an ugly sweater."

"Martin," Rob said, giving a nod. "His mom sends him those sweaters since his roommate won't turn down the air and he keeps sneezing. In fact, I think he has a couple of your singles."

"You should look into that," Alex said.

"I will," Rob said, looking back at Lenni. "Was there anyone else?"

"Those were the only guys I saw in the dorm," she said. "But there were loads of people outside when I met up with you."

"Yeah," Rob said, sitting back. "And then we went to the finance office. Don't think we saw anyone there except the secretary."

"But someone _had_ to have been there to take this," Lenni sighed, looking at the picture.

"Maybe the picture has some clues," Tina said, also looking at it. "What's that in your hand?"

They looked at the photo and saw Rob was holding a yellow slip of paper.

"My receipt," Rob said. "From paying off my bill."

"So this is the um…second kiss," Lenni said, blushing a bit.

"Second one?" Gaby asked.

"First one was when the secretary said I had money to pay it," Rob said, rather sheepishly. "But uh…then she had to remind me to endorse the check…and gave me a receipt. Then she said we could um…carry on."

Gaby and Tina giggled as Alex gave a grin.

"That's a uh…good clue though," Alex said, slapping Rob on the back. "Someone from the dorm might have had time to follow Lenni…and snap this picture."

"That's true," Lenni said. "It's not very far from the dorm to the finance office."

"What other buildings are nearby?" asked Gaby.

"Well…besides my dorm…the science building is pretty close," Rob said. "And classes just let out. It might have been someone coming out of a science class that saw Lenni."

"That might be a lot of people though," Lenni sighed.

"But it has to be someone that would've recognized you," Rob said. "And probably knows we're dating."

"Does anyone else know about that?" Alex asked.

Rob sat back and sighed.

"Betty does."

"Who's that?" Lenni asked.

"She was at that party," Rob groaned. "I talked to her for a minute…saying I was going to be in your music video the next day and needed to leave early. She got all excited and asked if I could get her your autograph."

The others laughed and Lenni rolled her eyes.

"_Only_ if she turns out to be innocent," she frowned. "Does she have science class on Friday afternoons?"

"One way to find out," Rob said, writing in the casebook.

_Who has classes in the science building at 1 pm on Fridays?_

The words glowed and a ball of light zipped out of the room. It came back some time later, flying into the computer. Lenni sat down and read a great many names.

"Wow," she said. "That's a lot of people."

"Is Betty on the list?" Tina asked.

"Um…no Bettys," Lenni sighed.

"But hey," Rob said, pointing to the list. "_Justin_ is on the list."

"Who's that?" Gaby asked.

"Guy at the end of the hall," Rob said. "And Betty's _boyfriend_. She mentioned him at that party."

"So he could've taken the picture _for_ Betty," Alex said.

Rob nodded and added Justin to the list.

"We're going to have to talk to these people," he said.

"I can talk to Arnie," Tina said. "He has film to pick up at the photography shop."

"I'll have to talk to the others though," Rob sighed.

"Might look fishy if you talk to _all_ of them," Gaby said. "How about I pretend I'm doing a school project…and interview a couple people that way?"

"Gaby," Alex frowned. "Papa isn't going to let you run around NYU by yourself…and I have to get back to work."

"Wait," Lenni said. "I have a better idea."

Gaby went down to the bodega and Hector looked up from the register. She filled him in on the case and also what she wanted him to do.

"Ah," Hector said. "So I'll be finding people who are fans of Lenni's and interview them for the magazine."

"Right," said Gaby, showing him the list. "Specifically _these_ people. You can go over there with Rob when he comes down."

"What's he doing?" Hector asked.

"Hector," Gaby said. "Lenni is his _girlfriend_. What do you _think_ he's doing?"


	8. Chapter 8

THE UNWANTED PHOTO OP – PART THREE

Back upstairs, Lenni rather nervously sat down with Rob on the couch. He put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"It's going to be fine," he said, kissing her hair. "We'll find out who did this."

"I know," Lenni said. "It's just…you're not mad?"

Rob raised an eyebrow.

"Well sure I'm mad," he said. "Some creep invaded our privacy. But like Calvin said…it's part of the business. Just have to get used to it."

"Oh," she said. "I guess…it's just…Tuan got really mad before…when stuff like this happened."

Lenni went red, as she was nervous about discussing her previous relationship with Rob. But he just narrowed his eyes.

"But…he's a musician too," Rob said. "Why was he surprised?"

"Well…he wasn't surprised," Lenni said. "He just got mad that the article only referred to him as _Lenni's_ _boyfriend_. He expected them to mention his name…or at least the band he was in. But they only talked about me because I'm more famous than he is."

Rob gave a sigh and shook his head.

"Lenni. I'm not a musician. I'm a writer."

Lenni cocked her head.

"What difference does that make?"

"It makes a huge difference," he said. "Writers aren't known by what they look like or who they're dating or even their real names."

"You mean…you don't use your real name anyway?" she asked.

"Nope," he said. "I use a pen name. Even if people _did_ know I was dating you, it wouldn't affect my career in the least."

"Oh," Lenni said. "I didn't think of that. I was just afraid…that you'd leave…like Tuan did."

Lenni went red as Rob pulled her closer and took her hand.

"I'm not going to leave you, Lenni," he said. "I'm far too committed to do that."

Lenni's eyes grew wider at this statement.

"Wow," she said shyly. "Most guys are afraid of…commitment."

"Most guys don't grow up moving around from base to base every year," Rob pointed out. "I'm ready to settle down in one place…and with one girl…for better or for worse."

Lenni swallowed hard.

"This isn't…a proposal is it?"

"No," Rob said, smiling as he shook his head. "But I _do_ intend to head in that direction…if you'll let me."

Lenni bit her lip and nodded as he gave a shy smile, pulling her closer.

Meanwhile, Calvin was sitting in his favorite coffeeshop with Erica Dansby. He told her about Rob wanting to know who took his picture and launching an investigation. She laughed and shook her head.

"Oh it's just like Junior High, isn't it?" she said. "All his little friends were investigating _me_ when Max Mouse was still at large."

"They were looking into me too," Calvin said. "Although that was probably because I told Lenni that it was me."

"Oh please," Erica said. "Max Mouse was _far_ more clever than _you_ were."

"Thanks a lot," Calvin said. "Pity Rob wasn't around for that one."

"He wasn't?"

"Nah," said Calvin. "He had moved already. Why I finally had the guts to ask Lenni out."

"Right," Erica grinned. "He'd have beaten you to a pulp if he had been here."

"Well he got his chance later," Calvin said. "That's how we got kicked out of the dorms."

Erica laughed, as Calvin had told her that story already. She then cocked her head.

"So who does he think snapped the photo?"

"He was going to ask Lenni who all saw her when she was here," Calvin said. "He'd also like to know if uh…you know of anyone who's a fan of hers."

"Only one who comes to mind is Betty," Erica said, rolling her eyes. "Plays that one song all the time in her room."

"Hey yeah," Calvin said. "I think she's dating Justin…and he's on our floor."

"She was also at my party," Erica grinned. "May have talked to Rob before he bugged out."

Calvin gave a sly nod as he looked over Erica's shoulder.

"She's right there," he said. "How about we find out?"

Erica turned around and grinned at the short and round girl with a long blond ponytail. She waved her over as Calvin pulled out the magazine.

"Hey Betty," Erica said. "You're a huge Frazier fan, right?"

"Well yeah," Betty said excitedly. "Her songs are _so_ inspirational."

"Did you uh…happen to see this?" Calvin asked, showing her the magazine.

Betty looked at it and her eyes grew wide.

"Woah," she said. "Isn't that your roommate?"

"Of course," Calvin said. "Someone must've noticed Lenni was here Friday afternoon."

"She was _here_?" Betty gasped.

Erica and Calvin looked at each other.

"Well…yeah," Erica said. "This photo was taken at the finance office."

"Oh _man_," Betty griped. "Lenni was here on campus…and I missed it!"

"Missed it?" Calvin asked.

"Yeah," Betty pouted. "I went home to Buffalo after lunch on Friday."

Erica and Calvin looked at each other as Betty passed back the magazine.

"Please _please_ ask Rob if he can get me an autograph?"

A short time later, Calvin was telling Rob to cross Betty off the list as they were lounging in the dorm lobby. Rob gave a sigh and made a note of it in the casebook.

"I eliminated the RA too," he said. "He went to a meeting right after talking to Lenni. He wasn't anywhere _near_ the finance office."

"Finance office?" Calvin asked.

"Yeah. Whole reason we were making out is that Lenni gave me a royalty check for the songs I wrote. I had enough to pay off my bill."

"Oh," said Calvin. "Well why don't you just find out who else was paying bills on Friday? Then you'd know who was in the building to take the picture."

Rob paused before looking at Calvin.

"Never thought I'd say this," he said. "But you are _brilliant_, Calvin."

"I know," Calvin said smugly. "Pity student bills are confidential. No idea how you're going to get _that_ kind of information…"

Rob gave Calvin a hard stare until he got up to leave.

"I've got homework to do," he said. "Have a beautiful day."


	9. Chapter 9

THE UNWANTED PHOTO OP – PART FOUR

Rob kept watching Calvin until he went up the stairs to the dorm. He then gave a sigh as Hector came in, looking over his shoulder.

"Good grief," he said. "I thought he'd never leave."

"Be glad you're not living with him," Rob said. "What'd you get?"

"Well…Martin wasn't sure if it was Lenni he saw or not," he said. "He followed her to see if it was."

"He _followed _her?" Rob asked.

"Yeah," said Hector. "But only until she met up with you…so he says. He's gonna ask if you can get an autograph for him."

"Interesting," Rob said. "What about Justin?"

"Only said his girlfriend is a fan…and was asking him to get you to get an autograph," he said.

"Well his girlfriend is cleared," Rob said. "She went home Friday afternoon. And if Justin took the photo for her, she wouldn't have been so surprised to see it in the magazine."

"You talked to her?"

"No," Rob said. "_Calvin_ did. Saw her in the coffeeshop."

"Oh," Hector said. "Does uh…that make Calvin part of the team?"

"Ugh no," Rob said. "But he is in a funny position. I mean…he knows _about_ Ghostwriter…but he can't _see_ him."

Hector raised an eyebrow as Rob told him what Calvin had suggested.

"Well…he does have a point," Hector said. "I thought about asking those guys if they went to finance, but I was supposed to be asking about Lenni for her publicist."

"Which means we need someone _else_ to find out about it," Rob said, writing in the casebook.

_Please look at the finance records for NYU. Who else made a payment on Friday around 2 pm?_

Rob then smiled and sat back as Hector watched the ball of light, which returned after a short time and started writing a list of names, dollar amounts, and times.

"Hey," said Hector. "Looks like Arnie has a pretty big bill…and only made a tiny payment on it."

"Seems Martin made a payment too," said Rob. "Might've gone to finance after following Lenni."

"And took a picture?" Hector asked.

"Yeah," Rob said. "Although he doesn't owe much. Looks like he has a scholarship helping him out."

"That must be nice," Hector said. "I never knew college was so expensive. No _wonder_ you were kissing Lenni for getting your bill paid off."

Rob nodded but then thought of something and wrote in the casebook again.

_Did any of the suspects make a finance payment this week?_

"This week?" Hector asked.

"Right," Rob said. "As in _after_ selling the photo to the magazine. Maybe the whole reason he took it was to get his bill paid off."

Hector nodded as Ghostwriter returned with more information. Rob's eyes grew wide and Hector whistled.

"Seems that Arnie guy did," he said. "His bill went down a _lot_."

"But he had _just_ done a payment on Friday," Rob said. "And only paid the bare minimum. Wonder where he got the money from to do such a big chunk?"

"Yeah," said Hector. "And how's he gonna pay the rest? He still owes a lot."

Rob raised an eyebrow as Hector gave a sly grin.

"Think he might be tempted to take another picture?"

The next day, Rob sat with Lenni in the coffeeshop. Just outside the door, Hector was hanging around with Gaby. In another location, Alex was talking to Tina. And a little further away, but in the perfect spot to take a photo, Calvin was with Erica. They looked over when the student in glasses came over, not noticing them at all, but pulling out a camera with a large zoom lens. He snapped several photos before Erica came up behind him.

"Film cameras are a thing of the past, Arnie," she said. "Digital will take over."

Arnie spun around and nearly dropped the camera, but Tina ran over and grabbed it just in time.

"Careful Arnie," she said. "This is expensive."

"But so old-fashioned," Erica said.

"But…but I can't afford a new one," Arnie stammered. "I got bills to pay."

"Is that why you're taking unauthorized pictures of my roommate?" Calvin asked. "I mean it _can't_ be because of his looks."

"I heard that!"

Arnie seemed to shrink even smaller than he already was as Rob and Lenni came over.

"I'm…I'm sorry," he whimpered. "It's just…I owe a lot…and I heard you say you got money for writing songs. I was hoping…I could do the same…with pictures."

"You could," Rob sighed. "But I had _permission_ to write songs."

"Actually, we needed permission from _him_," Lenni said. "Otherwise it's like stealing."

Arnie went red and nodded as Rob gave a sigh.

"Look…if you want pictures of us, all you have to do is ask first," Rob said. "We'd be happy to have you as our photographer."

"You…you would?"

"Sure," Lenni said. "So long as you lay off this sneaking around stuff…and only sell pictures to _my_ publicist. Sonia will give you a fair price."

Arnie nodded and gave a shy smile. He then spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures of Lenni, both alone and also with her boyfriend. But he had to take a break when both Betty and Martin came over to ask for autographs.

"Oh good grief," Rob said, sitting down.

"You're the one dating a celebrity," Calvin pointed out.

"Yeah yeah," Rob sighed. "Guess I just need to get used to it."


End file.
